Shadows on the Horizon
by Raye2
Summary: R just to be safe...this one's longer! PROLOGUE UP!! please R


1 Author's Note: This story goes into a little bit of the Rico/Valerie romance, but I tried to keep it in tune with the normal Miami Vice attitude/feel. Let me know what you think of the story and please Read&Review!  
  
2 ~Many thanks from your humble author ~Raye~  
  
3 (By the way, you'll also notice that I've changed my penname. I was kinda getting tired of the whole anonymous thing… I figured the readers would like to know whose stuff they were reading :)  
  
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6 Shadows on the Horizon  
  
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9 Prologue  
  
  
  
"I don't like this…" Sonny Crockett said to his partner, Rico Tubbs. They were driving the white Ferrari Testerossa on their way toward a meet with yet another drug dealer. Charlie Sloan. He was a commonly known dealer, but he was slick; nothing had been pinned on him yet. Nobody could make any charges stick; the man had bought every judge and jury in the state of Florida. They pulled up to the location of the meet, but the place seemed almost deserted. "Something's not right here…" he said aloud.  
  
"Let's go," Rico said shortly. Sonny glanced up at him for a moment as he stepped out of the car. Something was wrong all right. Though he wasn't sure if it was wrong with the bust or his partner.  
  
"You okay, Rico?" he asked. He looked on edge tonight, and when you're dealing with guys like Sloan, you can't afford not to have a clear head.  
  
"Why, don't I look okay?" Rico answered heatedly.  
  
"Just a little on edge," he replied seriously. *What's going on?* he wondered. Rico wasn't normally like this, if he was ever like this.  
  
"Sloan," Rico stated. Sonny looked towards the middle of the field they were parked in. Sloan and his guys were slowly making the trek across toward them.  
  
"Let's get this party started, then," Sonny said. He didn't like any of this. It was too much like a set-up. Too much opportunity. And Rico wasn't helping matters much. Maybe it had something to do with Valerie. She was in town from New York, and hell, Sonny liked her as much as anybody else, but he didn't trust her sometimes.  
  
It was then that he saw her. As Sloan made reached them, Sonny could see Valerie standing behind him. *New York's got people undercover here…?* Somehow that didn't seem plausible, but he didn't take Valerie for a dealer, even if she had done some questionable things in her past. He looked at Rico. The two of them made eye contact for the briefest of moments and Rico hid his surprise well.  
  
"Before we begin, gentlemen, I believe there is something we must clarify," Sloan said. He walked around Sonny and Rico and continued, "We have a cop in our midst. Mr. Cooper, you see I have valid information that one of you are a part of the Miami Vice." Sonny looked up sharply as Sloan spoke. He tried not to seem worried, and gave his partner a menacing glare. He couldn't do anything that would make Sloan suspect them both. "Unless, of course, you can convince me otherwise…"  
  
"What would you propose I do?" Rico asked.  
  
"Well, since your partner there, Mr. Burnett, may be a cop as well… I'll let you figure it out." Sloan laughed evilly, obviously pleased with the predicament he had placed them both in. Sonny didn't like the way this was all working out, and with his partner's current frame of mind… he knew he wouldn't jeopardize this operation if he could help it, but he wasn't himself lately. Rico pulled his gun and cocked it. He walked over to where Sonny stood, looking at him intently. He brought the butt of the gun down at the base of his skull, and Sonny crumpled to the ground, unconscious. He hated this, but as he'd made that last eye contact with his partner, he'd known that he understood. If both of them were going to live, then they'd have to play this just right.  
  
"Would a cop do that to a fellow cop?" he asked Sloan, keeping his gun ready.  
  
"You have passed the test for now," Sloan informed him. "But why not just kill him?" he asked innocently. He was trying to get him to let something slip, something that would give him away. Behind him, Valerie looked indifferent, but Rico knew inside her emotions were raging. He could tell. She turned away as he answered.  
  
"We should leave him here," Rico said, trying to sound convincing. "If he survives the night alone out here in the middle of nowhere, then so be it. Let the cops know we won't let anyone interfere with our operation" He glanced down at Sonny, who lay unmoving on the ground at his feet. Sloan nudged him with his foot and kicked him once in the ribs. Inside, Rico winced for his partner, but he knew that Sloan would be judging his reaction.  
  
"Let's get started then," Sloan said, motioning for Rico to walk along side him. They began walking across the field again. "You and I have some business to conduct back at my place, Mr. Cooper…"  
  
Rico listened to Sloan's words, but he was thinking about Sonny. He knew he'd be okay, but that didn't make him feel any better about this. Sloan was known for his 'tests', he knew, and they'd been prepared for something like this. He'd tried to pit them against each other, make them expose each other. They knew he'd only deal with one of them one way or the other; it was just a question of who. And now they knew. They had backup waiting; they'd be there as soon as Sloan's gang was out of sight. This wasn't right… it never was. 


End file.
